‘Live Together in Peace’

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: What has prevented lasting world peace??

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article. Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• envisioned (p. 19)
• hierarchy (p. 19)
• armistice (p. 20)
• stymied (p. 21)
• isolationists (p. 21)
• turmoil (p. 21)

3. Engage
Have students share examples of conflicts that come up among members of the sports teams and clubs they belong to. Ask: How are those conflicts resolved? Who holds power in resolving the conflicts? Then explain that the article  is about an organization, the United Nations, that has the purpose of resolving international conflicts.   

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the United Nations. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions and ask students to cite text evidence when answering them:

• When and why was the United Nations formed? Why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt want the U.N. to have a hierarchy? (The U.N. was formed in 1945, at the end of World War II. The purpose was to prevent future wars, particularly another world war. Roosevelt wanted the U.N. to have a hierarchy so that it could take action when needed, unlike its predecessor the League of Nations, which required all member nations to agree to significant actions, and thus rarely accomplished anything.)

• What is the hierarchy of the United Nations? (Members of the General Assembly can debate matters, issue statements of condemnation or support, and vote on the leader of the U.N. But the General Assembly has no power to enforce anything or take any action. The power to take action lies with the Security Council, which has 15 seats. Five are permanent seats for the U.S., China, France, Great Britain, and Russia, formerly the Soviet Union. The other 10 seats rotate among other member nations every two years.)

• How has the hierarchy prevented the U.N. from taking action? (The five permanent members of the Security Council have veto power. During the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union vetoed resolutions they thought might help the other. And more recently, China, Russia, and the U.S. have blocked resolutions for ideological reasons.)

• What are some actions the U.N. has taken? (Some actions include helping create the state of Israel, defending South Korea from invasion by North Korea, helping countries in Africa achieve independence from European colonial powers, feeding and providing medication to millions of people in need, and resettling refugees.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF ‘Right Has Might,’ which features excerpts from President Harry S. Truman’s speech to the delegates establishing the U.N. Discuss what makes the speech a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of these excerpts from Truman’s speech? (The tone can be described as forceful, impassioned, and righteous. The purpose of the excerpts is to clarify and emphasize the delegates’ goal and to inspire them to rise to the occasion to achieve it.)

• In the first paragraph, how does Truman use pathos (an appeal to emotion), logos (an appeal to logic), and ethos (an appeal to believe the speaker as credible)? (He appeals to emotion by referring to the torture and tragedy of the two world wars, appeals to logic by claiming that those wars clearly indicate that the world is on a trend of world wars, and establishes himself as a credible speaker by including himself, through the use of “We,” as one of those who lived through the world wars, so therefore, he understands the problem firsthand.)

• Paraphrase the two claims Truman makes in the second paragraph. How do the next four paragraphs work together to support his claims? (He claims that, if unchecked, world wars will destroy all civilization and that establishing a world organization for the enforcement of peace could stop the trend of world wars. The next four paragraphs support this by giving specific details about how the delegates can create a world organization for the enforcement of peace. The first and second state the goal: Write a charter. The third clarifies what the charter should do: Create a structure for the organization. The fourth explains a challenge: The task is much more than drawing boundaries.) 

• What does Truman mean when he says we must “reverse the order” and that “Right Has Might”? (By “reverse the order,” Truman means we must stop the trend of world wars and instead start a path of lasting peace. By “Right Has Might,” he means that those who want peace are powerful, or mighty, and they can stop, though peaceful means, those who want war.)

• Based on the Upfront article and this speech, do you agree with Stanley Meisler that “the United Nations has never fulfilled the hopes of its founders”? Why or why not? (Students’ answers may vary but should be supported with text evidence.)

6. Writing Prompt
Imagine that you are a delegate in 1945 working on the charter for the United Nations. Write a brief essay summarizing your recommendations for how the U.N. should be organized and the powers it should have.

7. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess comprehension and the Analyze the Graph skill sheet to practice data analysis

8. Classroom Debate
Should the permanent seats for the U.N. Security Council change in number and allocation?

9. Creative Expression
Have students research the Cuban Missile Crisis, including Adlai Stevenson’s and U Thant’s roles in relation to it. Then offer students the choice to write a short play, short story, news script, or other creative text based on their research. Have students share their work.